Label, method and system for baggage handling

ABSTRACT

This is a baggage-handling system in which luggage of any size or shape is wrapped with an encircling belt made of a heatshrinkable plastic material at a baggage-tagging station designed for this purpose. The baggage is then put on a conveyor which carries it through an oven to shrink the plastic so that the tag is securely attached to the luggage, and the belt lies flat against the surface of the luggage. Destination-identifying indicia printed on the plastic belt are then read by an optical scanner which is positioned alongside the baggage conveyor. Suitable electronic data processing equipment responsive to the optical scanner then controls additional baggage conveying equipment to determine the destination of each individual piece of baggage according to the indicia read from the plastic belt.

Unite States Patent [191 Soltanoff Aug. 14, 1973 LABEL, METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR BAGGAGE HANDLING [76]- Inventor: Louis Soltanoft, 127 FourBrooks Rd., Stamford, Conn. 06903 [22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 [21] App].No.: 115,662

Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Attorney-Louis Altman [57] ABSTRACTThis is a baggage-handling system in which luggage of any size or shapeis wrapped with an encircling belt made of a heat-shrinkable plasticmaterial at a baggagetagging station designed for this purpose. Thebaggage is then put on a conveyor which carries it through an oven toshrink the plastic so that the tag is securely attached to the luggage,and the belt lies flat against the surface of the luggage.Destinationidentifying indicia printed on the plastic belt are then readby an optical scanner which is positioned alongside the baggageconveyor. Suitable electronic data processing equipment responsive tothe optical scanner then controls additional baggage conveying equipmentto determine the destination of each individual piece of baggageaccording to the indicia read from the plastic belt.

34 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 14, 1973 t) Sheets-Shoat. 1

INVENTOR.

LOUIS SOLTANOFF vfa-aia W Patented Aug. 14, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 LPJMcue Patented Aug. 14, 1973 3,752,312

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 14, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Patented Aug. 14, 1973,

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 LABEL, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BAGGAGE HANDLING FIELD OFTHE INVENTION THE PROBLEM There is a recognized need for an improvedmethod of handling and identifying the passenger baggage which iscarried by airlines. Although this need is not confined to the airtravel industry alone, the baggage problem faced by airlines is aparticularly difficult one. The passenger is necessarily separated fromhis heavy luggage, because there is no room for it in the passengercabin. Instead, heavy items must be stored below the passengercompartment, i.e. in the baggage hold of the aircraft. Then any mistakewhich the airline may make after taking custody of the passengersbaggage is indeed a serious one, because of the great distancesroutinely covered by airplanes. These reflections are clearly born outby recent items in the press, concerning surveys which have shown lostluggage to be the principal service complaint of airline passengers.Thus a better method is needed for labeling airline baggage, forguaranteeing that it is loaded aboard the proper airline and reaches itsintended city destination at the intended time, and also for unloadingthe baggage and returning it to the passenger more promptly than hasbeen accomplished in the past.

In addition to better customer relations, there are great advantageswhich the airlines themselves can gain from improved baggage-handlingprocedures. Successful automation of these procedures holds out thepromise of a reduction in the baggage-handling labor force, and animprovement in the use efiiciency of existing baggage facilities, all ata time when the advent of jumbo jet airplanes and consequent peakpassenger loads makes these objectives even more important.

The best approach to these problems seems to be the automation ofbaggage-handling procedures through the use of automatic readingtechniques to eliminate human errors, and the automatic control ofbaggagehandling equipment by such reading devices. One of the problemsin designing such automatic systems has been the difficulty of providinga baggage label which can be read reliably by automatic equipment,despite the variability of baggage orientation. Another factor is cost;baggage tags for airline use must be produced at very low unit cost, yetfunction effectively as electronic data processing input documents.Additional problems arise as a result of the infinite range of sizes andconfigurations in which passenger luggage appears. Soft-sided luggage,in particular, can change its external shape according to the nature anddistribution of its contents at any moment.

THE INVENTION In the past, most luggage labels have either been wrappedaround the handle of the luggage (see Gwinn U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,684, forexample) or attached to the handle by a string tie.

According to the present invention, however, a label includes a beltwhich is wrapped about the body of the luggage and fastened in place byany suitable means which allows the circumference of the belt to beadjusted to that of the bag. The additional security contributed by thebaggage-encirclement feature alone makes such a label a betterbaggage-identification or destination-identification device than thosetags known previously.

As an additional feature of the invention, however,destination-identifying indicia are printed on the baggage-encirclingbelt itself, in a form which is readable by automatic machinery. Thenthe baggage is carried by a conveyor past a suitable reading device,which scans the belt, determines the identity or destination of thebaggage, and controls automatic conveying equipment downstream to sendthe baggage to its appropriate destination, e. g. a particular aircraftloading station or passenger pick-up station. The fact that thebaggageidentifying surface encircles the entire bag makes it much easierto design automatic reading and cooperating baggage-conveying equipmentsuch that the identifying indicia will reliably pass through the fieldof view and focal plane of the reading device.

In the preferred form of the invention, the baggage encircling band isformed of a shrinkable material, for example one of the heat-shrinkableplastic films which are on the market at the present time, and the bagwith its encircling belt are passed through an oven designed to shrinkthe belt into more tightly encircling relationship with the bag. Thisfurther increases the security of attachment of the identifying label tothe luggage, and also insures that the belt containing the identifyingindicia will be more tightly controlled as to focal plane, position, andattitude for the benefit of automatic reading equipment.

The invention also has additional aspects which relate to specificstructure of the means for fastening the belt in baggage-encirclingrelationship, and to the conveying equipment which maintains the baggagein the right attitude so that the indicia-bearing belt is properlypresented to the automatic reading equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially schematicperspective view of a baggage-handling system in accordance with thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a baggage label for use with the systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a baggage-labeling station in the systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a similar perspective view illustrating attachment of thebaggage label of FIG. 2 to a piece of baggage at the labeling station ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating thecondition of the baggage label after attachment to a piece of baggageand detachment of a claim check stub therefrom.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the portion of the baggage conveyor ofFIG. 1 which carries the baggage past a label-reading station.

FIG. 7 is a schematic electrical circuit diagram of a safety circuit foruse with the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of an alternative type ofbaggage-encircling belt for use with the label of this invention.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of cardboard cartons provided withencircling labels in accordance with this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Baggage Labeling Ingeneral terms, the baggage-handling system of FIG; 1 includes abaggage-labeling station 10, an oven 12, a label reading station 14, abaggage conveyor 16 which carries the baggage through the oven 12 andpast the reading station 14, and a switching device 20 which diverts thebaggage to any one of several conveyors 21 through 24 leading toalternative baggage destinations. These destinations could be differentaircraft baggage loading stations, so that the choice of exit conveyor21-24 determines which aircraft the baggage is loaded onto, and whichcity it is ultimately flown to; or they could be different passengerbaggage pick-up stations at the arrival end'of the trip; or any othersuitable set of alternative baggage destinations.

At the baggage-labeling station are individual baggage labels 26, one ofwhich is more clearly illustrated in FIG. 2. Each such label includes anelongated belt 28, preferably made of tough plastic sheet material, oneend 28a of which has a hanger hole 30 punched in it, and the other end28b of which is secured by any suitable means to a combination fasteningdevice and baggage tag 32. Typically the belt end 28b would be glued toan outer surface of tag 32. This tag is also fabricated of sheetmaterial, preferably cardboard or heavy paper, and is folded to form twoconfronting panels 34 and 36. One of the panels 36 is divided into twoportions 360 and 36b along a score or perforation line 38, permittingportion 360 to be easily separated from portion 36b by hand.

The tag 32 serves several purposes. First, it serves as abaggage-identification tag permitting the airline passenger to bere-united with the proper bag upon arrival at his destination, andpreventing theft by an unauthorized person posing as the true owner. Forthis purpose, the external surface of one of the panels, e.g. panel 34,contains, for example, the designation LA. (for Los Angeles) and thebaggage claim number 57-61-223. The claim check stub 36a is similarlymarked with the same city and baggage designations, so that thepassenger arriving at Los Angeles can readily identify baggage number57-6l-223 and prove his claim by matching the stub 36a.

In addition, the tag 32 serves as a fastening device for securing thetwo ends 28a and 28b of the belt together so that it can be installed inencircling relationship about a piece of baggage, as a means ofattaching the entire label 26 securely thereto. In order to accomplishthis, one or both of the confronting surfaces of the panels 34 and 36bare coated with a conventional pressuresensitive adhesive material 40.In order to prevent this adhesive from gluing the two panels 34 and 36btogether prematurely, a sheet of conventional glossysurfaced releasepaper 42 is inserted between them. At the appropriate time, the releasepaper is removed, the tail end 28a of the plastic belt is insertedbetween the confronting surfaces of panels 34 and 36b, and the panelsare pressed together to fasten the tail end 28a of the belt 28 to thetag 32. The result is seen in FIG. 5, which illustrates the topologicalloop configuration of the belt 28 once its tail end 28a has been securedto the tag end 28b by means of the fastening device or tag 32. FIG. 5also illustrates the separation of claim check stub 36a 4 from theremainder of the tag 32, along score line 38 (see arrow 39).

Hanger holes 31 are punched in the confronting panels 34 and 36b of thecardboard tag 32, similar to the hanger hole 30 in the belt end 28a.This facilitates the suspension of both ends of each label 26 at thebaggage labeling station 10, illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3. Atthe labeling station there is provided a pair of upstanding labelsupporting plates 50 and 52 located on opposite sides of abaggage-labeling floor area 54. A pair of suspension hooks 56 and 58 ismounted on the supports 50 and 52 respectively to support opposite endsof a particular stack of baggage labels 26.1 intended to label baggageheaded for Los Angeles. Similar pairs of hooks 62 and 64, 66 and 68, 70and 72 support stacks of baggage labels 26.2 through 26.4 intended forChicago, New York, and Boston respectively. Any number of cities can beaccommodated in this fashion by simply elongating the baggage-labelingstation 10.

Hooks 56, 62, 66 and 70 pass through hanger openings 31 to support thecardboard tags 32, while the opposite hooks 58, 64, 68 and 72 passthrough hanger openings 30 in the tail ends 28a of plastic belts 28. Asa result, the central portions of belts 28 hang down to the level of thebaggage-labeling floor area 54. Between the stacked belts 28 of labels26.1 through 26.4 marked for different cities, are baggage supportingribs 74 which serve to hold any piece of baggage 60 above the stackedbelts 28. As a result, the baggage 60, when inserted into the baggagelabeling station 10 and placed upon the baggage supports 74 asillustrated in FIG. 3, is already encircled on three sides by the belts28.

The next step is for the baggage attendant to remove the free end 28a ofthe uppermost belt 28 of the selected city stack (Los Angeles in theexample illustrated by FIG. 4) from its book 58, remove the associatedcardboard tag 32 from the opposite hook 56, manually adjust the belt 28to the circumference of the particular piece of luggage 60, and attachthe belt end 28a to the luggage tag 32 by gluing it between theconfronting panels as previously described. The attendant also removesthe claim check stub 36a, and gives it to the passenger for use inreclaiming his luggage at the arrival end of the trip.

This label is completely flexible in adapting itself to the wide rangeof luggage configurations and sizes normally encountered in airlineoperation. The baggageencircling belt 28 ismade long enough to encompassthe girth of the largest bag that may be encountered, and the baggageattendant then compensates for smaller luggage circumferences by simplypulling the belt end 280 as tightly as necessary to accommodate anygiven piece of luggage 60, leaving as great a length as necessary of thetail end 28a hanging loosely from the tag 32.

Even if the invention went no further, the luggage label 26 as so fardescribed would be a significant improvement over those presently usedby airlines. One of these is a cardboard tag with human-readabledestination-identifying and luggage-claiming indicia thereon, whichhangs loosely on the bag and is secured to the handle thereof by meansof a tie string. The string is subject to tearing, resulting in loss ofthe luggage tag. When this happens the luggage often does not reach theintended aircraft and therefore does not arrive at the intended city, orit is not returned promptly to its owner if it does reach the intendedcity.

Another type of luggage tag in common use consists of a tearable paperor cardboard strip which wraps about the luggage handle and is gluedinto a closed loop thereabout. Such tags are also insecure because theglued ends project away from the body or handle of the luggage and aretherefore exposed to the possibility of tearing. See the Gwinnpatentcited above.

In contrast, the tough plastic band 28 of the present baggage labelencircles the main body of the baggage; not just the handle 84. Inaddition, the belt lies close to the body of the luggage, making it moreresistant to severing and detachment from the luggage. Note also in FIG.4 that the belt 28 causes the cardboard tag 32 to lie relatively flatagainst the surface of the luggage 60. This predictable orientation ofthe tag 32 makes it less vulnerable, and also facilitates reading of theluggage tag 32 by the human eye. This is an advantage in a non-automatedsystem in which a human attendant has the responsibility of directingthe luggage to the proper aircraft loading station, and is alsoconvenient for the passenger when he reclaims his luggage at thedestination.

Heat Shrinking The advantages of the present invention, however, goconsiderably farther than this. In a preferred embodiment, the plasticmaterial of the baggage-encircling belts 28 is heat-shrinkable. Suchmaterials, which are commerically available from a number of plasticsmanufacturers, are usually either cross-linked or strainorientedpre-stretched thermoplastic polymeric or elastomeric films. Thematerials which can be used for this purpose include polyvinylidineflouride, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene,polyolefin, polystyrene, Neoprene, silicone and butyl elastomers,polyester, polypropylene, polyvinylidine chloride copolymer, and rubberhydrochloride. For a discussion of some of the methods used inmanufacturing materials of this kind, see the articles by Brenner inModern Plastics, April 1968, pages 118-19, and Lowry in Modern PackagingEncyclopedia, 1971 196-202. Briefly, these materials are prepared insheet or strip form and then are cross-linked by exposure to radiationand/or stretched to induce strains into (i.e. orient) the material.Subsequently, upon the application of heat these materials shrink backto the original dimensions which they had prior to stretching. In theprocess of shrinking, they assume the contours of any object about whichthey may be wrapped, and they undergo' certain changes in propertiesincluding increases in stiffness, tear resistance and abrasionresistance. A heat-shrinkable plastic film material which has beenwrapped relatively loosely about an object by hand will pull itself verytightly thereabout when subsequently shrunk.

In the context of the present invention, after wrapping theheat-shrinkable plastic belt 28 hand-tight about the luggage 60 andsecuring it in place with the adhesive cardboard tag 32, the baggageattendant places the bag on the conveyor 16. The conveyor then carriesit through an oven 12 which is open front and rear to form an entranceand exit for the baggage. Such an oven is known as a heat tunnel orshrink tunnel in the plastics packaging industry, where they arecommonly used for contour-fitting plastic packaging of a variety ofproducts.

For use in the baggage-handling system of this invention, the airtemperature inside the shrink tunnel l2 and the linear speed of thebaggage conveyor 16 must be chosen so that the temperature and theexposure time cooperate to achieve significant shrinking of the plasticbelt 28 without significant heat transfer to the luggage 60 or itscontents, thus avoiding any possibility of damage. On page 196 of theModern Packaging Encyclopedia (cited above), some representative plotsof shrink percentage as a function of temperature are shown for a broadgroup of heat-shrinkable materials. These curves show that for properlychosen materials, temperatures in the range from l-2l0 F. can achieveshrinkages from about 10 percent to about 60 percent; easily enough totighten the encircling belt 28 closely against the luggage 60 in thebaggage-handling system of this invention. The temperatures justreferred to are those to which the plastic films themselves must beheated; as shown by the chart on page I98 of the Modern PackagingEncyclopedia, the air temperature inside the shrink tunnel 12 must besomewhat higher than the target film temperature, even for filmthicknesses in the range from 0.4 to 2.0 mils. The preferred thicknessfor the present application is 3-6 mils, but even with these heavierfilm gauges, the exposure time inside the tunnel 12 would be of theorder of a few seconds, and thus would not result in significant heattransfer to the luggage 60 or its contents. Even sensitive instrumentsor heat-responsive contents such as aerosol cans inside the luggage 60will not be damaged by such brief exposures.

A safety mechanism is provided to prevent any piece of luggage 60 frombring subjected to prolonged exposure in the heat tunnel 12 in the eventof a conveyor breakdown or other mishap. Accordingly, as seen in FIG. 4,the interior of the tunnel 12 is provided with a light source 100 on oneside which is aimed through the interstices of the conveyor 16 andtrained upon a photo-detector 102 on the opposite side of the tunnel. Asseen in FIG. 7, the photo-detector 102 turns on a conventional timercircuit 104 each time a piece ofluggage 60 passing through tunnel l2interrupts the light beam from the source 100. If the piece of luggageis cleared out of the oven 12 within the timer period, then thecontinuity of the light beam from source 100 is restored, and the timeris reset before it can affect a normally energized relay 106. But if theluggage remains for the duration of the timer period, then the timerdeenergizes relay 106, allowing its normally open relay contacts todisconnect the heating element of the oven 12 from their power terminals108. Since the contacts of relay 106 are normally open, any malfunctionof the components 100, 102, circuit 104 or relay 106 will fail safe,preventing catastrophic heating of the baggage 60 within the oven 12.

It is within the contemplation of this invention that other approachesmay be used for shrinking the plastic material of the baggage-encirclingbelt 28. For example, in the electrical industry plastic materials usedto insulate wires and soldered terminals are frequently shrunk with theuse of small, hand-held hot air blowers which apply a localized blast ofhot air to a selected target area. It is conceivable that thebaggage-handling system of this invention may employ such hand-helddevices, or that a ring-shaped hot air nozzle encircling the baggage 60may be employed for directing a stream of hot air selectively to theplastic belt 28.

It is also contemplated that means other than the pressure-sensitive-adhesive-coated cardboard tag 32 may be employed toattach the two ends of the plastic belt 28 together. For example, theplastic material of the belt may be heat-sealed directly to itself bymeans of an appropriate hand-held heat-sealing tool. In that event, caremust be taken that the temperatures applied during the shrinking step donot exceed the sealing temperature of the particular plastic materialemployed. in that connection, the chart on page 198 of the ModernPackaging Encyclopedia demonstrates that for most heat-shrinkableplastic materials there is a safe temperature range within whichshrinkage takes place, but heat-sealing, or the softening of aheat-sealed bond, does not.

The shrinking of the plastic baggage-encircling belt 28 enhances thoseadvantages of the present baggage label which were referred topreviously. First, the heatshrinking process generally increases theresistance of the belt 28 to various types of destructive forces towhich they may be subjected during handling and in flight, and whichhave been a major cause of baggage tag losses and consequentmisdirecting of baggage in the past. Secondly, the shrinking of the beltmaterial causes the label 26 to adhere even more tightly to the luggagge60 than it would if the belt were only handtight. As a result, the beltclings more closely to every contour of the luggage and is still lesssusceptible to being caught by passing edges which might tend to cut thelabel loose. Even if the baggage is of the soft-sided type which largelyassumes the shape of its contents, the belt 28 will conform closely tothat shape however irregular it may be, resulting in a considerableimprovement in baggage-labeling security. Thirdly, the tension developedin the belt 28 by heat-shrinking makes it in effect a baggage strap,which, when wrapped about the luggage 60 in the direction illustrated inFIG. 4, helps to prevent the luggage from opening in the event that anymishap should affect the luggage locks 80. As a result, spillage of thecontents of the luggage is far less likely. Finally, the advantagespoken of previously, the fact that the orientation of the outer surfaceof the cardboard tag 32 in relation to the luggage 60 is predictable, isfurther enhanced by shrink-tightening of the belt 28.

Machine Reading Still another, and the most important, aspect of thisinvention, relies on the fact that a belt 28 completely encircling theluggage 60 can be read automatically by conventional optical scanningmeans without the need for finding one particular location at which themachine-readable information is solely located. A machine-readable datapattern may be printed over nearly the entire length of thebaggage-encircling belt 28. The data pattern could be any standardoptical character recognition alphanumeric type font, or alternativelyit could be a coded pattern such as the parallel bars 82 seen in FIGS. 2and 5. As a precaution against twisting of the belt 28 or misalignmentof the stack of baggage labels 26 at the labeling station 10, this datapattern is preferably printed on both sides of the belt so as to bereadable in any case. The data pattern is one which represents orencodes information representing a particular destination, i.e. theloading station for a particular flight, a particular city, or aparticular passenger baggage pick-up station.

The bar pattern 82 is encoded in terms of the relative widths of thedark bars 82 or the intervening parallel white stripes. Equipment forthe automatic reading of such bar-coded information is known, arepresentative machine being described in US. Pat. No. 3225177 of Stiteset. al. Typically such equipment comprises a light source directing abeam of light onto a rotating polygonal mirror drum. The rotation of themirrored drum serves to scan the light beam across the surface bearingthe bar code information in a direction transverse to the longitudinaldimension of the bars. The light beam is reflected back from thedata-bearing surface and from the polygonal drum through a fixed-focusoptical system which focuses an image of the bar code pattern upon amask formed with a slit appropriately sized in relation to the width ofthe code bars or their intervening spaces. The Stites patent cited abovediscloses a color-coded data scheme, but it is well within the skill ofthe art to use black bars 82 with intervening white spaces. Eitherapproach is practical for use with this invention.

With this brief description of a Stites optical scanner as background,the reader will appreciate that its important operating constraints are:First, the databearing surface must be within the focal plane of theoptical system (the term focal plane is used herein to include thetolerance permitted by depth of field). Second, the direction of scanmust cut transversely across the longitudinal direction of the data codebars 82. Third, the scanner does not have any capability for searchingout the data bearing target surface; the code pattern must be broughtdirectly across a fixed field of view in a highly reliable manner.

In this baggage handling system, the problem of focal plane is dealtwith, first, by designingthe conveyor 16 so that it moves the surface ofthe baggage though the desired focal plane (the depth of field is about8 inches). Then the tight conformity of the heat-shrunkbaggage-encircling belt 28 can be relied on to keep the data-bearingbelt 28 very close to the surface of the luggage 60.

The problem of scanning direction is handled by scanning in a firstdirection and printing the code bars on the data-bearing belt 28 in atransverse direction so that the scanning direction and the longitudinalaxis of the code bars 82 will be nearly perpendicular to each other.

Finally, the problem of bringing the desired data pattern precisely infront of the line of sight of the optical scanner again illustrates theadvantages of the present baggage label. Because the belt 28 completelyencircles the luggage 60, the data code pattern 82 is likely to bereadable at any location about the circumference of the baggage, withthe exception of the top surface 60a where a carrying handle 84 and oneor more conventional style dangling baggage tags remaining from previoustrips may obsure the data pattern. The cardboard tag 32 also obscurespart of the data-bearing surface of belt 28, as does the free-hanginglength of belt tail 28a. Accordingly, the baggage handler who isresponsible for attaching the labels 26 to each piece of luggage 60 istrained to put the tag 32 and the freely hanging belt tail 280 as nearas possible to the top surface 60a and the carrying handle 84 of eachpiece of luggage 60, thus confining all known hazards to the one areawhich in any event would be least desirable for machine reading. Then,the optical scanner may be aimed at any other convenient location aroundthe remaining circumference of the baggage 60, including the sides 60band the bottom 60c, and the reading reliability is greatly enhanced.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 6, the conveyor 16 as it emerges from theshrink tunnel 12 moves the baggage 60 through the reading station 14, atwhich there are located a plurality of optical scanners 90, for exampleof the Stites type. The conveyor 16 comprises two separate beds 16a and1611 which are set at an angle of 90 to each other to form a shallowV-shaped configuration (see FIG. 6). The baggage handler who mans thelabeling station 10 is trained to set the luggage 60 down upon the twobeds of the conveyor 16 in such a way that one side 60b of the luggagerests flat against one of the conveyor beds 16a while the bottom 60c ofthe luggage rests flat against the other conveyor bed 16b, under theinfluence of gravity. In this way the conveyor beds 16a and 16bestablish fixed focal planes against which the surfaces 60b and 60c ofthe luggage rest. Then one pair of optical scanners 90 is focused onside surface 60 b, while another pair of scanners is focused on bottomsurface 60c.

Each conveyor bed consists ofa series of spaced parallel rollers 92,rotatably mounted upon shafts 94 and supported by upper and lowerstructures 96, at least one of which contains driving machinery so thatthe rollers 92 of at least one of the two conveyor beds is motor-driven.The scanners 90 are aimed through the spaces between rollers 92, and thespacing between adjacent rollers of each conveyor bed is chosen at leastas great as the data-bearing width of the baggageencircling belt 28, soas to give the optical scanners 90 a clear line of sight to thedata-bearing surface.

In order to minimize the effects of an occasional twist or obstructionthat may fall in the line of sight, redundancy is provided. Each of thefour optical scanners is aimed at a different location about the baggagecircumference encircled by the belt 28. It has already been noted thattwo of the scanners 90 are aimed at the luggage side surface 6012, whilethe other two are aimed at the bottom surface 60c. The probability thattwists or obstructions will affect both surfaces of a single piece ofluggage is small. In addition, for greater reliability, the two scanners90 on a given side are aimed at different levels on the same surface ofthe luggage 60. Thus, one of the scanners of each pair is aimed at thelower portion of the luggage surface (arrows 112), while the other isaimed somewhat higher on the same surface (arrows 110). This furtherreduces the chances that problems may cause a complete data blackout.

The Stites optical scanner has a tolerance of about plus or minus 15 ofangular mis-orientation of the data bars 82 from the vertical. In orderto make maximum usage of this tolerance, one of the scanners 90 on eachside of the conveyor belt 16 is skewed at an angle of 10 to l to theleft, while its companion on the same side of the conveyor is skewed toto the right. As a result, there is a range of from nearly minus 30 tonearly plus 30 off vertical in which at least one of the opticalscanners 90 on each side of the conveyor 16 can still get a useable datareading. It is reasonable to expect that the baggage handler willinstall the baggageencircling belt 28 on each piece of luggage 60 withina tolerance of plus or minus 30 from the vertical in nearly allinstances. Once the band 28 is so installed, the heat-shrinking processwill fix the belt 28 so tightly in place upon the baggage 60 that thereis little chance of its being angularly displaced thereafter.

If the code bars 82 extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the belt28 (as seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5), the scanning direction of the Stitesoptical scanners must be horizontal, and the speed of the conveyor 16affects the scanning velocity to some extent. This, however, is not aproblem, because the conveyor speed is known and constant, and alsobecause it is small in relation to the effective linear scan velocity ofthe readers (the latter quantity is a function of the angular velocityof the rotating mirror drum multiplied by the length of the reflectedlight beam). An advantage of this geometry is that the plastic belt 28(by the use of onedimensional stretching or orienting techniques knownin the plastics industry) can be made heat-shrinkable along its lengthdirection only, thus pulling it tightly about the luggage 60 withoutaffecting the coded widths of the data bars 82. A disadvantage of thisapproach is that the belt 28 must be wide enough to accommodate allnecessary data across its breadth; or if the data pattern is reduced insize to fit on a narrower belt, some depth of field might have to besacrificed by the Stites scanner.

Another alternative is to print the code pattern with bars 82 extendingacross the width ofa plastic belt 28 as seen in FIG. 8. If thisapproach, or an optical character recognition approach, is adopted,complete separate destination identifications must be repeatedperiodically along the length of the belt 28' (as at locations 120.]through 120.5) in order to carry out the concept of data readabilityabout the circumference of the bag 60. In addition, since it can not beguaranteed that a scan will begin precisely at the start of any one ofthe data patterns 120.1 120.5, the length of belt 28 covered by eachreader scan must be at least twice the period of repetition of the datapatterns 120.1 120.5 to insure that at least one complete data patternwill be covered from end to end during each scan. Furthermore, the scanspeed must behigh enough, in relation to the linear speed of theconveyor 16 and the width of the sight gaps between conveyor rollers 92,so that a scan of the required length can be completed within the timethat the data-bearing width of belt 28 remains windowed between theroller gaps. Note also that here the heat-shrinking process must affectthe coded widths of the data bars 82. Consequently the extent ofshrinking must be more carefully controlled, and the Stites scannersmust be adjusted to read the data patterns in a pre-determined shrunkencondition. Here again, the belt 28 is printed on both sides as seen inFIG. 7 to defeat twisting or reversal of the belt.

The destination data read by the optical scanners 90 is fed over cables96 to a conventional small-scall, general purpose programmableelectronic computer 98, which is programmed to operate the baggagediverting switch 20 in accordance with the machine-read destinationinformation, thus making the proper choice among the alternative exitconveyors 21 24.

In speaking of a destination identification" encoded on the belt 28 or28', it is intended to encompass also the situation in which the belt isimprinted only with a serial number or other baggage identification, butthe computer 98 is independently provided with information as to thedestination (or intermediate and final destinations) of the baggage sonumbered or identified. To that computer, the serial number or baggageidentification is equivalent to a destination identification. Such asystem is especially adapted to handle the problem of luggage transferbetween flights or between airlines at intermediate destination.

One of the exit conveyors is preferably an error exit which puts a bagaside for human attention when for any reason the scanners 90 cannot geta reading. Each time a bag 60 goes through the reading station 14 itbreaks a light beam 131 sent by a lamp 130 to a photo-detector 132. Thelatter is connected to computer 98 by a cable 134, and the computer isprogrammed to select the error exit whenever the light beam 131 isbroken by the passage of a bag 60 and the scanners 90 fail to obtain ameaningful reading from the belt 28 or 28'. At that time, the computeralso sounds an alarm to alert an attendant.

In the great majority of instances, however, the labeled luggage 60 willbe sent to the appropriate aircraft loading location, and will thus bedelivered to the appropriate city. Subsequently, similar equipment inaccordance with this invention can be used at the aircraft unloadingramp to see that the baggage finds its way to the proper one of severalpassenger baggage pick-up locations.

The invention is also applicable to other types of baggage, such as thecardboard cartons seen in FIGS. 9 and 10. The first has a width-codedbar format similar to that of FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 printed directly on thecarton. The other has a repetitive data pattern'similar to that of FIG.8 printed directly thereon, the data being in an optical characterrecognition format. The data pattern of FIG. 8 could be printed directlyon the carton of FIG. 10, and conversely.

Conclusion In summary, this invention provides a baggage label which isan improvement over previous labels in that it completely encircles theluggage and is thus more reliably attached thereto and more predictablyoriented for both human-reading and machine-reading purposes. Secondly,the heat-shrinking aspect of the invention makes the baggage label stillmore secure, further enhances the predictability of its orientation forreading purposes, and has incidental benefits such as luggage-strapping.Finally, this baggage label, by virtue of such positionalpredictability, security of attachment to the luggage, and the fact thatit is readable at almost any position around the circumference of theluggage, lends itself to a machine reading system which removes thehuman error and labor cost and provides a highspeed reliable system ofautomatic baggage handling.

Since the foregoing description and drawings are merely illustrative,the scope of protection of the invention has been more broadly stated inthe following claims; and these should be liberally interpreted so as toobtain the benefit of all equivalents to which the invention is fairlyentitled.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A method of baggage identification comprising the steps of:

forming a baggage-encircling belt;

providing fastening means for securing a first portion of said belt toan adjustably selectable second portion thereof so that said belt andsaid fastening means jointly form a closed baggage-encircling label of acircumference selected in relation to the circumference of a piece ofbaggage;

putting a destination identification on at least one portion of saidlabel;

encircling the main body of said baggage with said belt; adjusting saidbelt to said selected circumference;

subsequently securing said belt at said selected circumference with saidfastening means; subsequently reading said destination identification onsaid label to determine the intended destination of said baggage;

and subsequently moving said baggage to the destination so indicated.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said destination identificationincludes printed machine-readable indicia on said baggage-encirclingbelt, and a machine capable of reading said indicia is employed todetermine automatically which destination is identified thereby.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein automatic means are operative fordiverting said baggage to the indicated one of a plurality ofalternative destinations in response to the reading of said destinationidentification by said reading machine.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said belt is formed of a shrinkablematerial, and after said belt is encircled about said baggage andsecured by said fastening means to form said closed baggage-encirclinglabel, said belt is treated in a manner to shrink it to a tighter fitabout said baggage whereby to attach said label more securely thereto.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said belt material is a heat-shrinkableplastic film, and said shrinking treatment comprises heating said film.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein a claim check is separably secured tosaid label, and further comprising the steps of putting duplicatehuman-readable baggage identifications on said label and said claimcheck respectively, separating said claim check from said label, anddelivering said claim check to the owner of said baggage at the time theowner delivers said baggage to a carrier, to facilitate subsequentreclaiming of said baggage by the owner.

7. A baggage label comprising:

a belt for encircling the main body of a piece of bagmeans for fasteninga first portion of said belt to an adjustably selectable second portionthereof so that said belt and said fastening means may jointly form aclosed baggage-encircling label of a circumference selected in relationto the circumference of said main body of said baggage;

and printed identifying markings secured on at least oneoutwardly-facing surface of said baggageencircling belt portion of saidlabel.

8. A label as in claim 7 wherein said fastening means comprises a sheetsecured to said first portion of said belt, at least one surface of saidsheet being coated with an adhesive material for bonding said sheet tosaid adjustably selectable second portion of said belt.

9. A label as in claim 8 wherein said sheet of material is a tag atleast one surface of which is ink-receptive and not coated withadhesive, and has at least some of said identifying markings thereon.

10. A label as in claim 9 wherein said printed markings are inhuman-readable form.

11. A label as in claim 10 wherein said tag has a claim check stubattached thereto along a score line for easy separation, and said inkmarkings comprise duplicate human-readable baggage-identificationindicia printed on said tag and on said claim check stub respectively.12. A label as in claim 8 wherein said sheet is folded to formconfronting panels, said first portion of said baggage-encircling beltis attached to one of said panels, said adhesive material ispressure-sensitive and coated on at least one of the confrontingsurfaces of said panels, and a sheet of release material is removablylocated in confronting protective relationship between said confrontingsurfaces so that said release material may be removed and saidbaggage-encircling belt may be wrapped about said baggage and saidselected second portion thereof interposed between said confrontingsurfaces and said panels pressed together to secure said sheet to saidbelt at said second portion thereof for forming said closedbaggage-encircling label.

13. A label as in claim 7 wherein said markings identify a destinationand are in machine-readable form.

14. A label as in claim 7 wherein said baggageencircling belt is formedof a material shrinkable to a tighter fit about said baggage whereby toattach said label more securely thereto.

15. A label as in claim 14 wherein said material is a heat-shrinkableplastic film.

16. A baggage-handling system comprising: baggage labels each having atleast one surface which bears printed machine-readable identifyingindicia including areas of differential optical character,

means for securing said labels to respective pieces of baggage which areinitially separate from said labels, in a manner such that saidindicia-bearing member thereof contiguously overlies the outer surfacethereof facing outwardly from said baggage, optical means capable ofautomatically reading said indicia and focused on a selected targetlocation in a selected focal plane, and

conveying means for moving said baggage past said reading means whileretaining said outer baggage surface in effective proximity to saidfocal plane for automatic reading of said indicia-bearing label surface,said indicia-bearing member comprising a belt, and said label includingmeans for securing said belt to said baggage in closely contiguousencircling relationship to the main body thereof.

17. A baggage-handling system comprising:

baggage-identifying labels each including a belt adapted to encircle themain body of the baggage, and printed machine-readabledestinationidentifying indicia on said belt;

and a reading station including equipment for reading said indiciaautomatically.

18. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipment forautomatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to saidreading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said readingequipment for reading thereby, wherein said conveying equipmentcomprises at least one bed formed with at least one reading gap therein.and arranged so that said bed establishes a focal plane against whichone surface of a piece of baggage rests when said baggage is beingconveyed thereby;

and said reading equipment comprises optical reading means aimed throughsaid reading gap in said conveyor bed and substantially focussed on saidfocal plane.

19. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipment forautomatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to saidreading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said readingequipment for reading thereby, wherein said conveying equipmentcomprises a pair of beds formed with respective reading gaps therein,and arranged so that one of said beds establishes a first focal planeagainst which a side surface of a piece of baggage rests and the otherestablishes a second focal plane against which the bottom surface ofsaid baggage rests when said baggage is being conveyed thereby;

and said reading equipment comprises a first optical reading means aimedthrough a reading gap in said first bed and substantially focussed onsaid first plane, and a second optical reading means aimed through areading gap in said second bed and substantially focussed on said secondplane.

20. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipment forautomatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to saidreading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said readingequipment for reading thereby, wherein said machine-readable indiciacomprise successive parallel code bars of contrasting optical character,the relative widths of which encode said destination identification.

21. A system as in claim 20 wherein at least one of said reading meanscomprises a plurality of reading devices aimed at different targetlocations, said target locations being spaced apart from each other in adirection transverse to the direction of conveying equipment motionwhereby to read different scanning tracks on said baggage.

22. A system as in claim 21 wherein said code bars extend parallel tothe baggage-encircling dimension of said belt so that their relativespacings are readable at a plurality of such spaced target locationsabout the en circled circumference of said baggage.

23. A system as in claim 22 wherein said reading equipment is designedto scan said label in a direction parallel to the direction of conveyingmotion for detecting said code bar spacings.

24. A system as in claim 21 wherein said code bars extend transverselyto the baggage-encircling dimension of said belt, and completedestination identifications are repeated periodically about said belt ina direction parallel to the baggage-encircling dimension thereof so thatsaid code bar spacings are readable at a plurality of such spaced targetlocations about the encircled circumference of said baggage.

25. A system as in claim 24 wherein: said reading equipment is designedto scan said label in a direction transverse to the direction ofconveying equipment motion for detecting said code bar spacings, anddesigned so that the length of said baggage-encircling belt covered byeach reading scan is at least twice the period of repetition of saidcode bars at the time of the scan; and said conveying equipment isdesigned to operate at a linear speed such that the amount of conveyingmotion achieved thereby during the time required for one complete scanby said reading equipment is no greater than the dimension of said codebar indicia in the direction of conveying motion.

26. A system as in claim 17 further comprising a baggage-labeling areaincluding a floor, at least one pair of spaced means for supportingbaggage above said floor, a pair of up-standing label supports onopposed sides of said labeling area, and respective means on each ofsaid label supports for suspending opposite ends of saidbaggage-encircling belt above said floor in such manner thatintermediate portions of said belt rest between said pair of baggagesupports and between said floor and the bottom-most surface of thebaggage supported thereon so that said belt partially encircles saidbaggage as soon as said baggage is placed on said supports.

27. A system as in claim 17 wherein said baggage encircling belt isformed of a shrinkable material, and further comprising means forshrinking said belt to a tighter fit about said baggage whereby toattach said label more securely thereto.

28. A system as in claim 27 wherein said band material is aheat-shrinkable plastic film, and said shrinking means comprises a heatsource.

29. A system as in claim 28 wherein said heat source is tunnel-shaped,and further comprising means for automatically moving labeled baggagethrough said tunnel at a predetermined speed so as to subject saidbaggage-encircling belt thereon to elevated temperature for apredetermined time.

30. A baggage attachment comprising a belt of heatshrinkable plasticfilm for encircling the main body of said baggage, and fastening meansfor securing said belt in contiguous, closed encircling relationship tosaid baggage, said fastening means being adjustable, at least prior tofastening, so as to match the circumference of said belt to that of saidbaggage.

31. A baggage attachment as in claim 30 wherein said fastening meanscomprises confronting panels secured together along one edge, a firstportion of said belt is attached to one of said panels,pressure-sensitive adhesive material is coated on at least one of theconfronting surfaces of said panels, and a sheet of release material isremovably located in confronting protective relationship with saidconfronting surfaces so that said release material may be removed andsaid belt may be wrapped about said baggage and a selected secondportion thereof interposed between said confronting panel surfaces andsaid panels pressed together to secure said first and second beltportions together and thereby re tain said belt in encircling positionrelative to said baggage.

32. A system comprising a package with machinereadable markingsextending about at least a major portion of a selected circumferencethereof, and optical data reading equipment designed to scan an area ofsaid package which intersects with said machinereadable markings onlyover a minor portion of said selected package circumference, saidmarkings comprising at least one data pattern arranged to be readable bysaid equipment at any such intersection occurring at any randomlyselected location about at least a major portion of said selectedpackage circumference.

33. A system as in claim 32 wherein said machinereadable markingscomprise a single data pattern formed of width-coded bars the lengths ofwhich extend about at least a major portion of said selected packagecircumference.

34. A system as in claim 32 wherein said machinereadable markingscomprise a plurality of repetitive machine-readable data patternsoccurring periodically at locations spaced from each other in thedirection of said selected package circumference and together extendingabout at least a major portion of said circumference.

1. A method of baggage identification comprising the steps of: forming abaggage-encircling belt; providing fastening means for securing a firstportion of said belt to an adjustably selectable second portion thereofso that said belt and said fastening means jointly form a closedbaggage-encircling label of a circumference selected in relation to thecircumference of a piece of baggage; putting a destinationidentification on at least one portion of said label; encircling themain body of said baggage with said belt; adjusting said belt to saidselected circumference; subsequently securing said belt at said selectedcircumference with said fastEning means; subsequently reading saiddestination identification on said label to determine the intendeddestination of said baggage; and subsequently moving said baggage to thedestination so indicated.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein saiddestination identification includes printed machine-readable indicia onsaid baggage-encircling belt, and a machine capable of reading saidindicia is employed to determine automatically which destination isidentified thereby.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein automatic means areoperative for diverting said baggage to the indicated one of a pluralityof alternative destinations in response to the reading of saiddestination identification by said reading machine.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said belt is formed of a shrinkable material, and aftersaid belt is encircled about said baggage and secured by said fasteningmeans to form said closed baggage-encircling label, said belt is treatedin a manner to shrink it to a tighter fit about said baggage whereby toattach said label more securely thereto.
 5. The method of claim 4wherein said belt material is a heat-shrinkable plastic film, and saidshrinking treatment comprises heating said film.
 6. The method of claim1 wherein a claim check is separably secured to said label, and furthercomprising the steps of putting duplicate human-readable baggageidentifications on said label and said claim check respectively,separating said claim check from said label, and delivering said claimcheck to the owner of said baggage at the time the owner delivers saidbaggage to a carrier, to facilitate subsequent reclaiming of saidbaggage by the owner.
 7. A baggage label comprising: a belt forencircling the main body of a piece of baggage; means for fastening afirst portion of said belt to an adjustably selectable second portionthereof so that said belt and said fastening means may jointly form aclosed baggage-encircling label of a circumference selected in relationto the circumference of said main body of said baggage; and printedidentifying markings secured on at least one outwardly-facing surface ofsaid baggage-encircling belt portion of said label.
 8. A label as inclaim 7 wherein said fastening means comprises a sheet secured to saidfirst portion of said belt, at least one surface of said sheet beingcoated with an adhesive material for bonding said sheet to saidadjustably selectable second portion of said belt.
 9. A label as inclaim 8 wherein said sheet of material is a tag at least one surface ofwhich is ink-receptive and not coated with adhesive, and has at leastsome of said identifying markings thereon.
 10. A label as in claim 9wherein said printed markings are in human-readable form.
 11. A label asin claim 10 wherein said tag has a claim check stub attached theretoalong a score line for easy separation, and said ink markings compriseduplicate human-readable baggage-identification indicia printed on saidtag and on said claim check stub respectively.
 12. A label as in claim 8wherein said sheet is folded to form confronting panels, said firstportion of said baggage-encircling belt is attached to one of saidpanels, said adhesive material is pressure-sensitive and coated on atleast one of the confronting surfaces of said panels, and a sheet ofrelease material is removably located in confronting protectiverelationship between said confronting surfaces so that said releasematerial may be removed and said baggage-encircling belt may be wrappedabout said baggage and said selected second portion thereof interposedbetween said confronting surfaces and said panels pressed together tosecure said sheet to said belt at said second portion thereof forforming said closed baggage-encircling label.
 13. A label as in claim 7wherein said markings identify a destination and are in machine-readableform.
 14. A label as in claim 7 wherein said baggage-encircling belt isformed of a material shrinkable to a tightEr fit about said baggagewhereby to attach said label more securely thereto.
 15. A label as inclaim 14 wherein said material is a heat-shrinkable plastic film.
 16. Abaggage-handling system comprising: baggage labels each having at leastone surface which bears printed machine-readable identifying indiciaincluding areas of differential optical character, means for securingsaid labels to respective pieces of baggage which are initially separatefrom said labels, in a manner such that said indicia-bearing memberthereof contiguously overlies the outer surface thereof facing outwardlyfrom said baggage, optical means capable of automatically reading saidindicia and focused on a selected target location in a selected focalplane, and conveying means for moving said baggage past said readingmeans while retaining said outer baggage surface in effective proximityto said focal plane for automatic reading of said indicia-bearing labelsurface, said indicia-bearing member comprising a belt, and said labelincluding means for securing said belt to said baggage in closelycontiguous encircling relationship to the main body thereof.
 17. Abaggage-handling system comprising: baggage-identifying labels eachincluding a belt adapted to encircle the main body of the baggage, andprinted machine-readable destination-identifying indicia on said belt;and a reading station including equipment for reading said indiciaautomatically.
 18. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipmentfor automatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to saidreading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said readingequipment for reading thereby, wherein said conveying equipmentcomprises at least one bed formed with at least one reading gap therein,and arranged so that said bed establishes a focal plane against whichone surface of a piece of baggage rests when said baggage is beingconveyed thereby; and said reading equipment comprises optical readingmeans aimed through said reading gap in said conveyor bed andsubstantially focussed on said focal plane.
 19. A system as in claim 17further comprising equipment for automatically conveying successivepieces of labeled baggage to said reading station in a manner to presentsaid belt indicia to said reading equipment for reading thereby, whereinsaid conveying equipment comprises a pair of beds formed with respectivereading gaps therein, and arranged so that one of said beds establishesa first focal plane against which a side surface of a piece of baggagerests and the other establishes a second focal plane against which thebottom surface of said baggage rests when said baggage is being conveyedthereby; and said reading equipment comprises a first optical readingmeans aimed through a reading gap in said first bed and substantiallyfocussed on said first plane, and a second optical reading means aimedthrough a reading gap in said second bed and substantially focussed onsaid second plane.
 20. A system as in claim 17 further comprisingequipment for automatically conveying successive pieces of labeledbaggage to said reading station in a manner to present said belt indiciato said reading equipment for reading thereby, wherein saidmachine-readable indicia comprise successive parallel code bars ofcontrasting optical character, the relative widths of which encode saiddestination identification.
 21. A system as in claim 20 wherein at leastone of said reading means comprises a plurality of reading devices aimedat different target locations, said target locations being spaced apartfrom each other in a direction transverse to the direction of conveyingequipment motion whereby to read different scanning tracks on saidbaggage.
 22. A system as in claim 21 wherein said code bars extendparallel to the baggage-encircling dimension of said belt so that theirrelative spacings are readable at a plurality of such spaced targetlocations about the encircled circumferencE of said baggage.
 23. Asystem as in claim 22 wherein said reading equipment is designed to scansaid label in a direction parallel to the direction of conveying motionfor detecting said code bar spacings.
 24. A system as in claim 21wherein said code bars extend transversely to the baggage-encirclingdimension of said belt, and complete destination identifications arerepeated periodically about said belt in a direction parallel to thebaggage-encircling dimension thereof so that said code bar spacings arereadable at a plurality of such spaced target locations about theencircled circumference of said baggage.
 25. A system as in claim 24wherein: said reading equipment is designed to scan said label in adirection transverse to the direction of conveying equipment motion fordetecting said code bar spacings, and designed so that the length ofsaid baggage-encircling belt covered by each reading scan is at leasttwice the period of repetition of said code bars at the time of thescan; and said conveying equipment is designed to operate at a linearspeed such that the amount of conveying motion achieved thereby duringthe time required for one complete scan by said reading equipment is nogreater than the dimension of said code bar indicia in the direction ofconveying motion.
 26. A system as in claim 17 further comprising abaggage-labeling area including a floor, at least one pair of spacedmeans for supporting baggage above said floor, a pair of up-standinglabel supports on opposed sides of said labeling area, and respectivemeans on each of said label supports for suspending opposite ends ofsaid baggage-encircling belt above said floor in such manner thatintermediate portions of said belt rest between said pair of baggagesupports and between said floor and the bottom-most surface of thebaggage supported thereon so that said belt partially encircles saidbaggage as soon as said baggage is placed on said supports.
 27. A systemas in claim 17 wherein said baggage-encircling belt is formed of ashrinkable material, and further comprising means for shrinking saidbelt to a tighter fit about said baggage whereby to attach said labelmore securely thereto.
 28. A system as in claim 27 wherein said bandmaterial is a heat-shrinkable plastic film, and said shrinking meanscomprises a heat source.
 29. A system as in claim 28 wherein said heatsource is tunnel-shaped, and further comprising means for automaticallymoving labeled baggage through said tunnel at a predetermined speed soas to subject said baggage-encircling belt thereon to elevatedtemperature for a predetermined time.
 30. A baggage attachmentcomprising a belt of heat-shrinkable plastic film for encircling themain body of said baggage, and fastening means for securing said belt incontiguous, closed encircling relationship to said baggage, saidfastening means being adjustable, at least prior to fastening, so as tomatch the circumference of said belt to that of said baggage.
 31. Abaggage attachment as in claim 30 wherein said fastening means comprisesconfronting panels secured together along one edge, a first portion ofsaid belt is attached to one of said panels, pressure-sensitive adhesivematerial is coated on at least one of the confronting surfaces of saidpanels, and a sheet of release material is removably located inconfronting protective relationship with said confronting surfaces sothat said release material may be removed and said belt may be wrappedabout said baggage and a selected second portion thereof interposedbetween said confronting panel surfaces and said panels pressed togetherto secure said first and second belt portions together and therebyretain said belt in encircling position relative to said baggage.
 32. Asystem comprising a package with machine-readable markings extendingabout at least a major portion of a selected circumference thereof, andoptical data reading equipment designed to scan an area of said packagewhich intersects with saiD machine-readable markings only over a minorportion of said selected package circumference, said markings comprisingat least one data pattern arranged to be readable by said equipment atany such intersection occurring at any randomly selected location aboutat least a major portion of said selected package circumference.
 33. Asystem as in claim 32 wherein said machine-readable markings comprise asingle data pattern formed of width-coded bars the lengths of whichextend about at least a major portion of said selected packagecircumference.
 34. A system as in claim 32 wherein said machine-readablemarkings comprise a plurality of repetitive machine-readable datapatterns occurring periodically at locations spaced from each other inthe direction of said selected package circumference and togetherextending about at least a major portion of said circumference.